Senate has fixed Monday next week for the commencement of a sweeping investigation into Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
The red chamber summoned Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), major international and indigenous oil companies, regulators, and several government agencies ahead of the scheduled wide-ranging hearings.
The firms were expected to explain issues arising from Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Oil and Gas Industry Audit Reports for 2021, 2022 and 2023.
The investigation to be conducted by Senate Public Accounts Committee, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, would scrutinise revenues, remittances, statutory obligations, and operational activities across the extractive industry as lawmakers intensified oversight of one of the country’s most critical revenue-generating sectors.
The committee, in a public notice made available to THISDAY on Thursday, said the senate derived its authority for the public hearing from Sections 88, 89 and 85(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as well as Order 95(5)(d) of the Senate Standing Orders, 2026.
The committee said the NEITI audit reports submitted to the National Assembly contained detailed information on the financial and operational activities of stakeholders in the oil and gas industry, including revenues, payments, remittances, and other statutory obligations.
It stated that the hearings would assess the level of compliance by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), government-owned enterprises, regulatory bodies, and oil companies with the provisions of the constitution, NEITI Act, Fiscal Responsibility Act, financial regulations, and other laws governing the extractive industry.
The committee added that it would interrogate issues highlighted in the audit reports, particularly those relating to revenue remittances and compliance with statutory financial obligations.
The hearings are scheduled to commence on August 3 at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja.
The first day of proceedings, according to the committee, will feature appearances by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), CBN, and Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The committee said it was expecting to hear from the Office of the National Security Adviser, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC).
The statement added that NNPCL, Joint Development Authority, and Ministry of National Planning had also been scheduled to appear, while the Nigeria Revenue Service, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation, and Ministry of Petroleum Resources were equally expected before the committee.
The committee fixed August 10 for appearances by the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation, Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), and Federal Ministry of Finance, before commencing hearings involving major indigenous and multinational oil companies.
Among the companies also invited were Seplat Energy, Aradel Energy, FamfaOil, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria, Oando, Chevron Nigeria, CNOOC Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, Conoil Producing, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, Aiteo Eastern E&P, Midwestern Oil and Gas, Pan Ocean, ND Western, Platform Petroleum, and Neconde Energy.
The committee directed all invited organisations to be represented by their chief accounting officers and relevant technical officials with adequate knowledge of the matters contained in the audit reports.
It also instructed the organisations to appear with all documents relevant to the investigation, warning that requests for adjournment or rescheduling would only be considered in exceptional circumstances and with prior approval.
The senate panel is expected to use the hearings to examine issues arising from the NEITI audit reports, including compliance with statutory financial obligations and the remittance of revenues due to the federation.
The investigation comes amid sustained legislative scrutiny of the extractive sector, with lawmakers increasingly relying on audit reports to examine the management of public revenues and the implementation of existing financial accountability laws.
